The US State Department is set to begin releasing thousands of pages of documents concerning Prince Harry at the end of July, following legal action brought by the Heritage Foundation.
Court filings reveal that officials have spent months processing 307 documents totalling 2,487 pages, which could provide an unusual window into how the Duke of Sussex is discussed within American Government circles.
The conservative think tank had previously pursued Harry’s visa records through a separate lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. However, courts upheld the prince’s privacy rights over his actual application in 2025.
Heritage subsequently filed fresh proceedings against the State Department, seeking alternative documentation held by the State Department about the duke.
Prince Harry faces fresh scrutiny as thousands of US Government documents are set to be released
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GB News has contacted the State Department for comment.
Heritage’s original case centred on revelations in Harry’s memoir, Spare, where he described using cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms and ayahuasca.
The think tank argued these admissions should have rendered him ineligible for entry to the United States.
Their lawyers contended that Harry must either have omitted his drug history from his application or received preferential treatment from immigration officials.
Prince Harry wrote a tell-all memoir called Spare in January 2023 | PA
Judge Carl J. Nichols of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in March 2025 that certain case-related documents could be disclosed, but the visa application itself would remain sealed.
Unsealed files included a document stating that releasing the application could expose Harry to “harassment as well as unwanted contact by the media.”
DHS rejected Heritage’s claims in court filings, stating the records contained no evidence supporting allegations of Government misconduct.
The documents under review were drawn from multiple State Department offices, with the largest portion, 217 files, originating from the Office of the Secretary.
Prince Harry admitted he had taken illegal drugs in his 2023 memoir | Getty
Additional material came from the Bureau of Consular Affairs and the Office of the Legal Advisor, whilst two documents were sourced from the Office of the Deputy Secretary of State.
An initial search returned more than one million records, subsequently refined to approximately 1,000 documents before a responsiveness review narrowed the pool further.
Though the precise contents remain unclear, Harry maintains connections with the State Department beyond his immigration status, notably through the Invictus Games.
In 2023, President Biden dispatched an official delegation to the tournament in Germany, including the US ambassador and a former deputy secretary at Homeland Security; correspondence relating to such visits may feature among the files.
The document release comes as Harry’s attention appears to be turning increasingly towards Britain.
The duke is expected to visit the UK this summer to promote the 2027 Invictus Games, which will be held in Birmingham after the city beat Washington DC to host the event.
It comes as Harry plans to bring Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to his home country for the first time in four years, with Meghan also anticipated to attend.
Harry has been offered accommodation at a royal residence, which would address his security concerns given such properties benefit from Metropolitan Police protection.